Georgia will scheme specifically for the run-dominant offenses of Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech and then have to switch gears a week later for expected SEC title game opponent Alabama, which runs a pro-style offense.

The GSU Eagles rushed for 302 yards last year in a 45-21 loss against an Alabama team that finished last season with the nation’s top defense. The Eagles trailed 24-14 at halftime.

Georgia Southern ranks 120th in the FCS in passing (66.1 yards per game), behind only fellow option team Wofford.

The Eagles beat Wofford 17-9 on Oct. 13 without attempting a single pass, becoming the first FCS team since 1998 to not have an attempt.

“I gave up all hopes of any pass rush this game,” Jenkins said. “I know we went into a little bit (Monday), but I don’t think we’re going to even game plan any pass rush. I think it’s going to be straight run, playing the cut, playing a thousands guys coming at you trying to cut you.”

Ignited by being called out publicly as “soft” by safety Shawn Williams, Georgia has allowed one touchdown and four field goals in the last three games while opponents have averaged 246 yards per game.

Outside linebacker Jarvis Jones said that the players have been disciplined and followed their assignments during the stretch.

Those traits will come in handy against Georgia Southern, even if the Bulldogs can’t rely on what they typically do on defense.

“It’s totally different,” cornerback Damian Swann said. “There isn’t any nickel package this week. It’s man on man. It’s (about) defeating a low block and making tackles in space, and that’s what we’ve got to do. Our normal scheme is pretty much out the window this week and next week. We’re going to have to go to straight, fundamental football.”

Or as coach Mark Richt put it: “We’re going to play defense so completely different than how we’ve been playing it all year long. Everything changes. The alignments change, the assignments change, the type of block that you’re dealing with changes.”

Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken was an assistant under Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech before Monken became the Eagles’ coach in 2009.

Georgia held Georgia Tech’s triple option in check last year in a 31-17 victory, limiting the Yellow Jackets to 355 total yards, including 243 on the ground.

Again and again

“It’s probably not the best scenario, but it’s the hand we’re dealt,” Grantham said. “It just so happens that we’ve got to face this style of offense two weeks in a row.”

Said Richt: “We just got to worry about that when the time comes. We can’t do anything other than defend who we are going to play. So that’s what we’re doing. When that’s through, we’ll have to change gears again certainly as far as the mentality and some of the schemes and responsibilities will be vastly different, there’s no doubt about that. If we don’t focus on this, we’ll get embarrassed badly.”

Richt is looking at the back-to-back option attacks in a positive light.

“I think if you’re going to play that type of offense twice in a season, it’s probably better to do it back-to-back rather than in game four and game nine, you know?” he said. “You kind of go back and forth on a certain mentality, and if we can maintain the same mentality for two weeks in a row instead of having to go back and forth, it’s probably not a bad thing, but we’ll see how the results end up.”

Georgia Southern differs from Georgia Tech in that the Eagles will work out of the shotgun at times.

“It all has an option concept to it,” Grantham said.

Grantham said defensive fundamentals, such as playing blocks, tackling, getting to the ball and knocking the ball out, carry over no matter the offensive scheme.

“The way we’re going to do it this game is unlike any other game we’ve played,” he said. “The mindset we’ll play with, the attitude we’ll play with, those kinds of things are still going to be there. That’s the core of your unit.”

Georgia’s defensive players may hate going up against an offense that employs plenty of cut blocking, but they know wins against Georgia and Georgia Tech keep alive their hopes of reaching the BCS title game.

“We’ve got to do it,” cornerback Sanders Commings said. “It’s another step to get to the national championship.”